PARIS is deeply concerned about a no-deal scenario because the UK will become an “independent coastal state”, dealing a major blow to France, which is heavy reliance on UK waters, a BBC Newsnight guest has claimed.

The UK is set to become an “independent coastal state” once it leaves the European Union on March 29 (Image: BBC)

Barrie Deas’s claims come amid the latest installment of the long-running “scallop war”, which saw a furious clash between French and British fishermen near Normandy, in the English channel on Tuesday night.

Even though British fishing vessels are legally allowed to operate in the area, their presence infuriated the French fishermen who gathered 40 boats overnight in protest and started throwing rocks at their counterparts to prevent them from fishing.

Appearing on the BBC flagship programme, the executive chief of The National Federation of Fishermen's Organisations (NFFO) pointed out the French “hypocrisy”.

Mr Deas said: “Figures are that the European fleets, of which French are a very considerable component, take about 6 times as much out UK waters as UK vessels take out of EU waters.